The Value of a Smile
by Phedre no Delaunay
Summary: After Beryl is defeated, Usagi and Mamoru decide to leave the past in the past. However, when Usagi starts volunteering at a local hospital, her life is forever entangled with the lives of Weiß. You vote on couples? ::gasp::


So...here we go again. Yep, another one of my SM/WK stories...sucks for you, eh? Oh well, this time I might actually let readers' opinions effect where the story is going. Sound like fun? 'Cause this is a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. I usually never have votes on couples or anything. But I decided to try something new on this story. Please allow me to explain:  
  
I haven't decided on any couples for this story, but I'm more than willing to add some. Thus, I'm letting you all have some say in the matter. However, this isn't going to be a normal vote for a few reasons.  
  
1.) WHEN YOU VOTE, do not simply say 'male character/female character' or whatever. GIVE ME A REASON as to why they would make a good couple OR give me a situation in which they would grow to care about each other despite personality differences. (Them being cute together is NOT a good reason)  
  
2.) The number of votes for different characters will NOT count. The most important thing is the reasoning behind the couple/s. I will consider each of the replies, and pick the best situations/pairings to use for the story. TRY TO SWAY MY OPINIONS AND MAKE ME LIKE YOU BEST if you want your couple to win. I will laugh at any review that says 'male character/female character,' as this shows that you have no brain, or don't care enough to leave a proper review.  
  
3.) The following pairings will not be allowed, as they are either completely implausible for my story or are too common.  
  
Yohji/any of the senshi except Setsuna: Yohji DOES NOT DATE girls under 18. Ever. No matter how cute they are. He will flirt regardless...a lot. But he will not date them. If you think he would, you obviously haven't seen the series.  
  
Schuldig/Usagi: In the anime, which I am using for this story, Schuldig is NOT A PLAYBOY!!! HE IS NOT LIKE YOHJI! He would find Usagi annoying, and would either A) manipulate her to kill/destroy someone/something or B) kill her. Schuldig is NOT nice. He is sadistic and manipulative. Also, this pairing is WAY too common.  
  
Omi/Usagi: Too common. Omi may be kawaii, and Usa may be kawaii, but it doesn't fit that well. Omi is a depressed computer freak who puts on a genki front. Usagi is just genki. There is a difference.  
  
4.) Consider using people like Hel, Schoen, Neu and Tot with Mamoru or Motoki or someone. If you don't know who they are, WATCH THE DAMN SHOW and quit pretending to be well informed on Weiß Kreuz. Or at least look it up, please. Go to www.anipike.com and look it up. I love Anipike, and I trust most of the information given on their various web sites.  
  
Don't ask me to bash Mamoru. If you ever read the manga, or paid ANY ATTENTION to the series, you'd realize that he isn't that bad. Most authors just want him to betray Usa, so they screw him up. I will keep him in character, nothing more, nothing less.  
  
5.) I like weird, uncommon couples. I like the challenge of putting two people together who don't have much in common. Please take this into consideration.  
  
6.) Please dear God be logical and use your brains. Put some thought and effort into it. Anything worth doing is worth doing right.  
  
Okay, other things about the story. This takes place after the first season of Sailor Moon and ignores the rest of the series. Everyone has his or her memories back. This simply takes away Chibi-Usa so that her existence doesn't become a problem. That and she's annoying. As for Weiß Kreuz, it takes place some time in the middle of the show and strays from the actual episodes though there are still some of the main problems. (Tomoe Sakura, Taketori Reiji, Esets etc)  
  
Now, after a page and a half of author's notes, I'll let you read the story. This prologue is from Usagi's point-of-view, but the rest of the story will be in third person. Hope you don't get too confused. Enjoy. ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I think it scared Motoki to see us like this. To him, we must have seemed ridiculously out-of-character, sitting there. We weren't arguing, and we weren't glaring. We just sat there, occasionally sipping our drinks, occasionally glancing at each other. True, the situation was awkward, as it often was when we were near each other, but this was different. The air felt of tension, of conflicting emotions that had never been present between the two of us.  
  
We paid no attention to our surroundings. People glanced at us curiously, while others walked by, ignoring us as we ignored them. We were in our own world, surrounded by conflict and pain that no normal human could comprehend. How could they, when they had only one simple life? These lives of theirs', precious and unique as they were, were nothing compared to the lives we had lived.  
  
This, of course, was hardly the reason behind the tension, but it certainly did play an important enough role in what would later happen. The main issue at hand was the conflict of feelings between the two lifetimes that we'd had together. Our past as lovers and our present as rivals refused to co-mingle in a peaceful way. Each had harsh edges, and those harsh edges rubbed past each other constantly, creating the pain between us.  
  
We both knew that we had to pick on or the other, and I think we both knew that, no matter what we chose, it would demand certain sacrifices from both of us. Still, we could not go on like this, unable to speak to each other, unable decide what we were feeling.  
  
He spoke up first, which didn't surprise me. He was stronger, emotionally, as he had dealt with more in this lifetime than I had.  
  
"So...how is this going to end?"  
  
It was the question on both our minds. A question that needed an answer and neither of us could come up with a solution that would not be painful. We could be lovers, as we were, and sacrifice our new freedom as regular people. Or, we could separate and sacrifice one of the deepest loves in the past millennia. Finally, I worked up the courage to say what I'd said many times before. Never before had it been hard, though.  
  
"I just want to be normal."  
  
It came out barely above a whisper, but he understood. He'd heard me say it before, as I whined about not wanting to have to fight. He'd never mocked me about it, never told me I couldn't be normal. He had always been the one that would have let me be normal, if given the chance.  
  
"You can't ever be completely normal, now," he said gently. This I already knew, but I suppose it was helpful to be reminded of it at times. "But, you deserve to be happy. I would love you till the end of time, but you wouldn't be completely happy. You will find another."  
  
He took my hand and kissed it, gently. I was crying, as I often did, but this was different. Normally, I simply whined about how unfair my life was. Now, the man I had loved so passionately a thousand years ago was letting me go, letting me find my happiness. It seemed as though he was sacrificing his soul just so that I could be happy. It tore my heart to know that I would be leaving a man that wonderful in search of a normal life.  
  
Finally, the tears stopped flowing and I wiped my eyes on my shirtsleeve. I plastered a fake smile on my face, though I could tell it didn't reach my eyes and that he would be able to see right through my facade. Still, he said nothing about it, and I thanked him for it. I stood up, ignoring my half-finished drink.  
  
"I...have to get to the hospital. I volunteer there," I stated softly.  
  
Before, when we hadn't remembered our pasts, he would have teased me about it. He wouldn't have understood why I, the slacker who was practically failing junior high, would volunteer anywhere. He wouldn't have even believed I'd work for pay, let alone out of the goodness of my heart. Many people who knew me saw me that way, but I intended to change all that...some day.  
  
I always liked to help people feel better about themselves. Whenever they were sad, I wanted to make them smile. I hated to see people cry, and did my best to dry their tears. I wanted to continue to help people, to ease their suffering. At some point, I don't remember exactly, I decided that being a nurse would help me to do just that. Of course, I realized quickly that my grades would have to improve drastically for that to ever happen, but I'd been making slow progress.  
  
A short while after I decided that I wanted to become a nurse, I learned of a program for people to volunteer at local hospitals. When I started, I was disappointed to learn that a great deal of it involved paperwork and running errands for the hospital staff, but I resolved to keep trying. It turned out that nurses did a lot of paperwork as well, so I figured this would help get me accustomed to the job.  
  
I guess the hospital staff soon learned of my abilities to make people smile, and slowly they let me visit some patients and their families. Most of them were just kids who'd had to stay in the hospital for a few days or those with minor problems. They kept me away from those with terminal illnesses and the like, but I was happy about that. I didn't think I could handle talking to people who knew they only had a few months to live.  
  
Still, it made me feel like a better person to see people who were recovering from illness or injury smile. And most of the smiles were real, unlike the false one plastered on my face at that moment. There truly is no gift greater than a stranger who should by all accounts be depressed smiling happily at you.  
  
This was a fact Mamoru seemed to understand. After he'd gotten to know me, he realized how much I cared about people being happy. He would no longer tease me about such things, and, probably, he would try his best to help me. I think he knew the value of a smile as much as I did.  
  
"I'll drive you over there, then," he offered, extending his hand.  
  
I stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to think. I trusted Mamoru with every drop of blood in my body, of that I was sure. But I wasn't sure about whether or not I could keep myself composed after being around him that long. Finally, I made my decision.  
  
I took his hand, and we walked out of the arcade, friends forever.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yeah, I know, it's kinda short and kinda weird. But it's a prologue, so it's okay.  
  
Anyway, vote on couples, and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS at the top. If not, I will humiliate you publicly in my author's notes. It is NOT hard to write a well-rounded review that states your opinion, and it is even less hard to read the author's notes.  
  
Also, if something is wrong or bothers you, TELL ME! I cannot improve my story unless you tell me the bad things. A well-rounded critique is HELPFUL.  
  
Hope you enjoy. I'll get the next chapter out sometime, hopefully in the near future. 


End file.
